The Afghan Whigs – Downtown (Still Corners cover)
The Afghan Whigs deliver two new covers via Royal Cream/BMG, their first release since 2022’s How Do You Burn?. The limited edition 7″ single features “Fake Like” (originally by Minneapolis band Poliça) and “Downtown” (originally by UK band Still Corners), both released as singles in 2016.
Greg Dulli explains: “Both of these songs were born out of soundcheck jams. Each song holds a particular resonance for me and I really felt the lyrics, so they both flowed freely and felt good to sing.” The band transforms both synthpop tracks into something distinctly Afghan Whigs, switching genders on the vocals but more importantly rebuilding the arrangements entirely.
“Fake Like” becomes a shuffling rock cut with Dulli’s emphatic vocal delivery replacing Poliça’s original from their 2018 collaboration with classical collective Stargazer, Music For The Long Emergency. The band makes it sound more expansive, stripping away the art-pop elements for something rawer.
“Downtown” gets piano-led treatment, building from delicate opening notes into a majestic slow-burn. The original Still Corners track from their 2016 album Dead Blue gets replaced with galvanizing riffs and intensifying percussion, creating movement the synthpop original didn’t have.
The limited edition 45 single is sold exclusively through Cincinnati’s Shake It Records and has already sold out. 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of The Afghan Whigs, with plans to be announced in the new year.
